Summary. In the flyer shown below, Mediacom is offering a phone service for $4.95 per month in the first year. The brochure does not provide information about the ongoing cost of switching to this service.
Targeting Senior Citizens. An anonymous source at Mediacom admitted that the primary users of the service are seniors who prefer having a landline over a mobile phone. It’s likely that people who signup for this service don’t monitor their monthly bills closely, and won’t notice the increasing costs over time.
Increasing Monthly Costs. Those who signup for the $4.95 monthly phone service will begin paying $19.95 monthly in the second year, then $49.95 monthly in the third year. So, rather than being $59.40 a year the cost will be $599.40 per year (a $540 difference in price).
Misleading Comparison. In the flyer below, Mediacom offers a checklist for the consumer to compare their phone service with Mediacom’s telephone service. However, the comparison chart doesn’t mention the increasing monthly service costs. Instead, it presents only the $4.95 per month price. Furthermore, the comparison chart doesn’t reveal that Mediacom phone service doesn’t include voicemail (another $4.95 a month).
Advertising Flyer. The Mediacom advertising flyers below describe the offer mentioned above.